Florence, Italy: Scoppio del Carro, or Explosion of the Cart, April 16, an annual Easter celebration in which a rocket is fired out of the city's cathedral to ignite a large wooden cart in the square outside.

Gaucín, Spain: The Andalusian town's Easterrunning of the bulls, April 16.

Boston: The Boston Marathon, April 17.

Washington, D.C.: Filmfest DC, April 19-30.

Iceland (various locations): The First Day of Summer, April 20, a public holiday marked by nationwide celebrations.

Taiwan (various locations): Mazu (Goddess of the Sea) parades, April 20, with celebrations at 400 temples accompanied by drums and firecrackers.

Calgary, Canada: The Calgary Stampede, July 7-16, one of the world's premier rodeo events.

Cyprus (various): The Festival of Ancient Greek Drama, July 7-Aug. 6, stages comedies and tragedies by international theater companies.

Kinross, Scotland: T in the Park, July 8-9, Scotland's major rock festival.

Kaustinen, Finland: The Kaustinen Folk Music Festival, July 8-16, is one of Scandinavia's largest and oldest celebrations of folk music and dance.

Berlin: World Cup Finals at the Olympiastadion, July 9.

Douai, France: In the Parade of the Giants, July 9, giant effigies of characters from local folklore are marched through the city's streets.

Stornoway, Scotland: The Hebridean Celtic Festival, July 12-15, a feast of traditional language, customs and music.

Cambridge, England: Cambridge Summer Music Festival, July 13-Aug. 5.

France (various): Bastille Day, July 14.

Rotterdam, Netherlands: The North Sea Jazz Festival, July 14-16, is one of the world's most prestigious.

Atlanta: National Black Arts Festival, July 14-23, celebrates the arts and culture of the African diaspora.

Zanzibar, Tanzania: ZIFF (Zanzibar International Film Festival) Festival of the Dhow Countries, July 14-23, East Africa's largest cultural event, with films, music, performing arts, exhibitions and workshops.

Quimper, France: The Festival de Cornouaille, July 15-23, a celebration of the region's Breton culture.

Ghent, Belgium: The Ghent Festivities (Gentse Feesten), July 15-24, a huge festival of international music, dance, theater and fireworks.

Xiamen, China: The World Choir Games, July 15-26, the Olympics of choral music, with more than 400 choirs and 20,000 singers from all parts of the world.

Each week in Readers Recommend, the Travel section shares tips on hidden gems in the U.S. and abroad. Here is a roundup of the recommendations published in the last year. Although the information here was correct when it was published, some details may have changed, especially room rates abroad...

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